What's it like to be a lifelong math teacher?

A College of St. Benedict/St. John's University professor will retire after more than half of century molding minds and influencing several generations of students, some of whom became his peers.

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College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University mathematics professor Robert Dumonceaux teaches Calculus I to students at St. John’s University’s Peter Engel Science Center on Wednesday in Collegeville. Professor Dumonceaux is retiring after 50 years of teaching.(Photo: Kimm Anderson, kanderson@stcloudtimes.com)Buy Photo

Story Highlights

Robert Dumonceaux from St. Joseph fell into teaching, but the Foley native has made it his life

The husband and father of seven who will teach his final class May 9 made math and learning fun

Former students credit the mathematics teacher for believing in them and helping them succeed in life

Although Robert Dumonceaux fell into the teaching profession, the college professor has both taught and learned during his years in the classroom.

"I have never filled out an application form for a job. I have never made a resume ... which is kind of unbelievable," said Dumonceaux, who was asked as a senior to teach a math course at St. John's University.

The College of St. Benedict/St. John's University professor's career took off from there, but he will retire after more than a half century of molding young minds, some of whom became his colleagues or co-workers.

The 74-year-old husband and father of seven from St. Joseph holds a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Missouri, but the Foley native did his undergraduate work at St. John's.

"He is well known and respected and has touched literally thousands of students, some of which keep in touch to this day," said his daughter Diane Pelant, clinical director of the Children's Center at St. Cloud Hospital.

Dumonceaux said, "I love to help them achieve; a lot of them come into their college career with a math phobia kind of thing, especially if they are not math majors, so I take special delight in trying to make math fun for them."

Adding up

So what's it like to inspire generations of students and cultivate a passion in them for a lifetime of learning?

"I just love it," said Dumonceaux, who was also asked to teach physics the year after graduating from St. John's. He also coached the wrestling team.

"I always wanted to teach math because my mother wanted to be a teacher, but she married a farmer, and she ended up teaching the boys besides working on the farm," he said. "She was playing school with me before I went to school."

Michael Heroux, of Avon, was his student and is a scientist-in-residence at the university. He teaches computer science part time in addition to being a full-time research scientist at a laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

"We're still friends," he said of Dumonceaux. "But at that age, when I was a college student, the thing I took away from his course was a love of mathematics and learning, while at the same time leading a balanced life."

Heroux recalls Dumonceaux talking about hoeing potatoes on his farm while thinking about a math problem.

"It made mathematics seem something like a normal person could do," Heroux said. "He's a very good teacher in that he's very personable, and he draws examples from everyday life, which is fun."

In summary

Patrick Haws was also a former student of Dumonceaux's; Haws would go on to coach soccer at St. John's for more than 30 years, and he started a swimming team in 1973.

"He was my academic adviser in math ... and he was a profoundly good professor," said Haws, a 64-year-old husband and father from Avon who graduated with a degree in mathematics.

"I was a relatively average math guy, but I wanted to teach and wanted to coach, and he expressed belief in me that I could get that done, that I could do that, and it gives you a lot of power when somebody expresses their belief in you."

Dumonceaux will teach his final class May 9, and he has nothing but fond memories for his students, who say he was a hands-on teacher who made math interesting and learning fun.

"Two years ago, I wouldn't have been able to talk about it; I would've cried even thinking about it," he said of his retirement, which will be honored at St. Ben's and St. John's.

"It's very bittersweet. I love being in the classroom with the students, and I don't know how I'm going to replace that — so I won't."